Bolivian president's woes deepen as ex-girlfriend is held

LA PAZ, Feb 29 (Reuters) - Bolivian President Evo Morales,
fresh from his first major electoral defeat in last week's
referendum on extending his rule, is facing a deepening scandal
over his ties to a woman who was held by police over the
weekend.

Gabriela Zapata was jailed on Sunday while her case is
investigated. She is accused of illicit enrichment and influence
peddling to help a company where she worked to secure lucrative
government contracts.

Morales, who is unmarried, acknowledges he had a
relationship with Zapata, but questions over whether he has
fully told the truth about the relationship have weighed on the
president's popularity.

The matter was likely a significant factor in the narrow
defeat he suffered last week in a referendum over whether the
constitution should be changed to allow him to run for office
again in 2019.

Bolivia's first indigenous president and leader since 2006,
Morales has won praise for his prudent spending of a natural gas
windfall that has helped tackle poverty.

But accusations of corruption and cronyism in Morales'
socialist party have been on the rise, eroding his support.
Morales has in the past risen above the accusations and
following his defeat last week he accused the opposition of
racial discrimination and a dirty tricks campaign.

However, confusion over when the relationship with Zapata
ended and whether a child they acknowledge they had together is
still alive have led to questions about whether Morales has
misled the public.

Morales has said the relationship ended in 2007 and their
son had died young.

But photos have emerged in the media that appeared to show
them together last year, while Zapata's aunt insisted over the
weekend that the boy is alive and well, causing a sensation in
Bolivia.

At a press conference on Monday, Morales said he was unaware
that his son had lived and asked the family to let him know the
truth.

"It would be a joy to me if he were alive," he said at a
press conference at the presidential palace in La Paz.
(Reporting by Daniel Ramos; Writing by Rosalba O'Brien; Editing
by Jeffrey Benkoe)